Verizon media event on Jan. 11 fuels Apple iPhone speculation [u]

Verizon has invited members of the media to an event next Tuesday, Jan. 11, in New York City, fueling rumors of an impending iPhone announcement.

On Friday, Verizon sent out formal invitations to members of the press for an event to be held at the Lincoln Center. The date — next Tuesday, four days away — is after the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas concludes.

The invitation states that the event will feature Verizon Wireless president Lowell McAdam, but no other details were provided. Of course, Verizon has been heavily rumored to gain access to the iPhone, and end its exclusivity with rival carrier AT&T, in the near future.

Typically, Apple holds events to introduce new products at its own corporate headquarters in Cupertino, Calif. If next week's event is for the much-anticipated Verizon-compatible CDMA iPhone, it would be unique for Verizon to make the announcement instead of Apple Chief Executive Steve Jobs.

This week, AppleInsiderfirst reported that Apple has begun quietly restricting employee vacations at the end of January and in early February. On Friday, another rumor surfaced, suggesting that Apple could have a major product launch scheduled for Feb. 3.

Also this week, photos and video of a component claimed to be from a new iPhone, showing a new stainless steel frame and antenna design, were released online. The video showing the part was removed from YouTube after a legal complaint was filed by Apple.

Update: TechCrunchreports that "Jim Dalrymple of The Loop (which exclusively covers Apple)" confirmed that he has been invited to the Verizon event, while Gizmodo, while "normally very friendly with Verizon," says it was not invited.

Gizmodo has not been invited to Apple-run events ever since the site obtained an iPhone 4 prototype last summer, and then refused to return it to the company until it published a series of articles with photos of the device as well as a picture of a legitimizing demand letter it required from Apple in exchange for the part's return, something Apple's chief executive Steve Jobs alluded to as extortion.

Yeah, this actually makes more sense than Apple doing the announcement themselves. After all, if it really is "just" the iPhone 4 coming to Verizon, then there isn't really a whole lot for Apple to say about the phone itself. Presumably the software will not be any different, and the only hardware differences will be whatever is necessary to make it CDMA and compatible with Verizon's frequencies. So what else is there for Apple to talk about? I think Steve Jobs might make an appearance at this event, but he probably won't be the star of the show.

This event will primarily be an opportunity for Verizon to talk about how their service with the iPhone will be different from AT&T's.

Yeah, this actually makes more sense than Apple doing the announcement themselves. After all, if it really is "just" the iPhone 4 coming to Verizon, then there isn't really a whole lot for Apple to say about the phone itself. Presumably the software will not be any different, and the only hardware differences will be whatever is necessary to make it CDMA and compatible with Verizon's frequencies. So what else is there for Apple to talk about? I think Steve Jobs might make an appearance at this event, but he probably won't be the star of the show.

This event will primarily be an opportunity for Verizon to talk about how their service with the iPhone will be different from AT&T's.

While Im fairly convinced of the February 3rd release date and less convinced about this Verizon event being iPhone focused, what you state is my take on why this seems feasible.

This is actually pretty funny. Gizmodo is convinced it is iPhone related because they are always invited to Verizon events and were excluded from being invited to this one. Obviously, if it is an Apple controlled/involved event, Giz wouldn't be invited.http://gizmodo.com/5727934/the-veriz...-on-january-11

Also, some regular Apple oriented tech writers are invited that say they are not normally personally invited to Verizon event (but I guess would be to Apple events).

While I'm fairly convinced of the February 3rd release date and less convinced about this Verizon event being iPhone focused, what you state is my take on why this seems feasible.

Well, if they are doing this at Lincoln Center, it's not going to be some mundane announcement. The iPhone on Verizon would be a big enough event to justify that, not sure what else would. The January 11 and February 3 dates could both be correct: one an announcement date, the other a release date.

This is actually pretty funny. Gizmodo is convinced it is iPhone related because they are always invited to Verizon events and were excluded from being invited to this one. Obviously, if it is an Apple controlled/involved event, Giz wouldn't be invited. ...

Well, that does pretty much give it away that it's an Apple related announcement. Unless their invitation was lost in the mail, of course.

This is perfect. If Apple do the announcement and have Verizon show up, that's one thing. But if Verizon does the announcement, it's almost like an apology. I suspect Apple will keep it low-key. Jobs might not even show up.